A Piece Of Memory
by Wendythedreamer19
Summary: Nick always knows that Grace is special to him. Other People he loved is part of his life, but Grace is the one he shared life with. And he has made a commitment to that a long time ago. NickXGrace Nance One Shot.


_**Hello everyone! This is my very first fanfic published here. Since the TV series seems to make them as future stepped siblings and no one really writes about them. I decided to satisfy myself...**_

 _ **Well English is not my first language and I'm really terrible at grammars, so please forgive any sentences doesn't make sense. I'm open to all reminders and corrections.**_

 _ **Disclaimer: I Do NOT own anything. All rights reserved to TV series GOOD WITCH.**_

* * *

25-year-old Nick Radford couldn't recall what he was like when he was 15 years old. The memory became blurred and indistinctive after entire ten years. Sometimes he wondered how he and his father moved to Middleton exactly. But he just couldn't remember it clearly, including his resistance of the small town at the beginning, his fight with his father that lasted for years, and his waspish temper towards anyone trying to be close to him. It's seemed to people who were around this young man now, who has no idea about his past, that he was naturally born this way: Gentle, patient, courteous and loving. But he was not. Someone has taken years to walk to him, to be close to him, to care him with a full heart, and to push him until he admitted that he wanted to be a better person for her.

Grace Russell. His _BEST_ friend.

Nick loved his family, both his parents, Cassie and all the Russell family members along with her came into his life; he loved his friends, John, Michael, Dan, and Noah, the coolest and nicest boys he met. He loved his teachers in Middleton High and all those great people in Middleton. But Nick knew there'a difference, a huge difference between the people he loved and Grace. They were part of his life, his grateful life(which he appreciated a lot). But Grace, she's something else. She's the one who he shared life with.  
When this thought came into his mind, Nick, sitting on a single couch beside the window, could not stop himself from smiling. They had gone through years of awkwardness before they eventually admitted how they felt about each other and their "friendship". It's really not easy, speaking in every aspect. They were both too young when they first met and it's hard to judge whether it was a good thing or a bad thing. Grace and he had become very dependent on each other ever since they got close. Almost everyone in the Middleton who know them knew that they were best friends hung out together all the time. So they had learned everything about each other, likes, dislikes, fears, things another was good at, etc. But it was also the problem that they had been together for too long: They had lost the ability to feel excited or allured by one another. (So it's not a lie that Grace and Nick thought they could be and would be stepped-siblings when they heard their parents were dating.)

"We could be siblings by some chances."Nick murmured, though deep down inside his heart he knew he did purposely to miss them and would do the same decision a thousand times over if he'd be given a second chance. Courtney, technically his first "girlfriend" after he moving into Middleton has crossed his mind. He could barely remember her face by now, but this girl was so impressive, enough to let him recall the name at any time. Honestly, Nick thought (and still insisted) he had a crush on her back in tenth grade. Courtney was pretty, and she had a kind of feminine tenderness in her eyes which was very attractive. Nick was joyful while dating her, from every perspective he had to say Courtney was an amazing girl and a brilliant girlfriend any boys would want.

 _Except him **.**_

Because the person who made them encountered and set them up were becoming a problem that dividing them apart. Nick was used to be with Grace, wherever in school, in Bistro, in the library, or at either one of their houses. They were used to meet after dinner in front of the basketball hoop at his yard, chatting about the day at school such as who did they see, what rumor was going around school, or what tests they had or would have in next couple of days. In both Grace and Nick's eyes, this was just the daily routine they had. But when Courtney came into the picture and became Nick's girlfriend, every sharing chat they had seemed unforgivable for being too chummy (Rather guilty, in Grace's word). Nick and Courtney dated for two months, half of the time they were arguing about if Nick should be so close even intimate to another girl rather than his own girlfriend. Eventually, Nick got tired of all the arguments, also couldn't, well, never thought of giving up his connection with Grace. Then the only way left for him was breaking up. Also because of that, he couldn't tell Grace why on earth he decided to break up with Courtney when they were looked like a sweet couple very much in love. And then things turned to a more horrible way than any one of two of them could imagine. Grace got so frustrated her friend would get more hurt with time passing by while Nick was halting, and she kept pushing him to talk to Courtney. In the end, Grace leaked out the message to Courtney when she had no idea she was just right behind her (25-year-old Nick could literally laugh out loud, this was so classic Grace).

 _Nick was so pissed off at that moment for sure, because his best friend, the girl he's defending for all the time just made thing more complicated that made his brain went blank for a few seconds. He went after Courtney quickly and caught her after few minutes. The girl's face was reddened, full of wrath instead of mirthlessness._

 _"Hey, Courtney, please! I'm so sorry! Grace didn't mean to."_

 _"Ha! now you're telling? What am I? Which girl on earth needs to be informed of breaking up from her boyfriend's BEST friend instead of himself!" Courtney shouted acidulously._  
 _Nick still could remember how horrid it was even ten years had passed by. He's popular and he knew it since very early age. He had dated many girls even before he came to Middleton. But he's never good at facing girl's anger. Every time he irritated a girl, his only solution was running to the next girl and started new dates, and never looked back. They allowed him. Because it's New York. In New York, even kids were much more mature than those in other places. Everyone knew they were too young to be serious about anything. These "dates" were more like a game they play around. But this one was different, he couldn't run away._

 _"Look, I'm so sorry! I'm really sorry that I, I didn't tell you earlier. I didn't want to hurt your feelings." He looked at her genuinely, "And Grace didn't mean to hurt you either, she just so worried about you because I hesitated for so long. Please, don't mad at her, she meant well." Once he finished the sentences, he realized he's doomed._

 _REALLY doomed._

 _The softness showed in Courtney's eyes after he apologized vanished so quickly as he mentioned the name that making Nick confused if he imagined it._  
 _"Nick Radford! What's wrong with you?! I AM your girlfriend!" She couldn't stop her anger coming out from her,"I didn't come to you! It was you. You were the one asking me out_ _in the first place!" She's looked so exhausted after shrieking. With gasping, she moved her sight from him, looking at street hollowly, muttered, "I knew it. I knew it!"_  
 _"I'm sorry." That's the_ only _phrase he could come out._  
 _"You should be! You lied to me. Both of you. I didn't expect to date you at the beginning, I didn't." Courtney buried her face in her hands so that he wouldn't see her tears coming down from her eyes. "It was you. You gave me the hope I may be special to you. Why did you play me?"_  
 _The guilty feeling was overwhelming Nick, made him shivering like he almost couldn't stand by himself. "I didn't play you. Courtney, please, I didn't play you. Grace and I are just friends!" He tried so hard to make his voice sounded confident and convincing enough._  
 _Courtney sneered. "I only wonder how your parents could be so blind, believing you two are just friends."_  
 _"Courtney..."_  
 _"Shut up! You know well you two_ care _each other in the way far beyond the line of simply being friends! Stop saying that rubbish to me!" She wiped away the tear marks on her face, took a look at his trembling tight fist, and snorted, "That's it. I'm breaking up with you."_  
 _She walked away without looking back. Nick stood there, feeling dazed_ as _someone hit his head vehemently with a huge hammer._

* * *

It was a long time ago, Nick sometimes still felt guilty, not only because he had once broken a girl's heart, but also because he remembered her for the way she triggered the biggest and longest cold fight he ever had with Grace. They hadn't spoken to each other for the whole semester. Nick absolutely knew the reason. Grace was too stubborn to apologize for things she thought herself did right. And him, he was in a befuddled state, confounded by Courtney's words about him and Grace. That's the first time he started considering what Grace Russell really means to him.  
"Nick!" A hand patted on his shoulder, Nick turned his head fiercely looking back, he almost a slight sound of broken at his neck.

"God. Are you trying to let me break my own neck?" He grunted.  
The girl with honey brown hair, Grace Russell, smirked mischievously, "Be fair Nick! I called you thousands of times but you didn't hear me." She paused for a moment, examining him, "What did you think about?"  
"You." He grinned, not totally lying. "How's your work today?"  
She rolled her eye with his answer, sitting down beside him, playing his fingers while replied to him, "Nothing special. That means Mr. Lingston is still mean as usual." She sighed heavily, "I really don't know what I was thinking when I took the job."  
"Money, I guess," Nick gloated, then pulled her into his arm letting her sat on his lap. Hugging the girl rested on his chest, he ran his free fingers through her smooth, long hair. "Well, you said you will stay till Friday. Today is Wednesday, and you are almost there. This weekend we could go back to Middleton and meet with Cassie and my dad."  
"Yeah, remind me that tomorrow morning again, wouldn't you? I need some hope to strength me going to work."  
Nick laughed, kissing her lips gently. And then Grace wrapped her arms around his neck pulling him closer and closer. That was a long, soft kiss, Grace felt she's melting in his arms. There was something, something warm inside her heart taking over her everytime they kissed. It's like she would never be lost her way home as long as he's there.

It _reminded_ something to her.

They parted with uneven gasping, Nick moved his lips to her ear, leaving small kisses. He muttered in a low voice:

"You know I was thinking of a secret I never told you before."

"Huh?" She watched him in questioning.

"You remember Courtney?"

There was a moment Grace's face turned dark and ready shot daggers from her eyes any moment as he spoke a single word blaming her.

"Grace!" Nick found it's kind of funny how defensive she looked like, but he kept going on,"You remember how we broke up? I never told you what happened after I ran out Bistro after her that night. I caught her, and..." Nick muttered at her ear, telling her that she's always the priority even when he broke up with another girl.  
"She got so mad. I felt sorry, sincerely. But that was really a blurt out without a second thought."  
Grace listened quietly. It came again, that warm feeling overwhelming her. She felt she lost the strength to manipulate her body, all she could do was wrapping his waist tightly like he's the only thing she had in the world. "I have a secret too," Grace said nearly in a childish tone. "If you remember Noah."  
Nick looked at her in surprise, "Of course I do."  
"We broke after my seventeenth birthday, because of you and your present for me." She had lost in the memory for few seconds. with a little bit nostalgic expression on her face. "He suggested it first. I was so shocked at the time 'cause I didn't think we have any problem. Though it turned out we did. He said he couldn't be together with me anymore, he can't watch his girlfriend giving all her attention to another guy, especially that guy is one of his good friends." She smiled lightly at Nick who stayed silent. "Noah said I was happy with him, but in a simple friend way. Every time I was in trouble, your name come out from my mouth first. He guesses that I just like hanging out with him like the way I would do with any friends of mine. But I only feel secure when I'm with you."  
Nick couldn't find any words to speak but only buried his face in her heir inhaling her scent. The sparkling light in her eyes was so bright that he suddenly afraid of them could burn out his heart.

"Another reason I can't regret the contract." He murmured.

"That's a lifelong deal I'm afraid." Grace was raising her brow, grinning.

Grace Russell's seventeenth birthday present also apology gift from Nick Radford, was a contract.

"Mr. Nick Radford, by all means, grants Miss Grace Russell the right to be mad at him. This means no matter under what kind of circumstances Nick Radford will never be allowed to turn his back to Grace Russell or start a cold fight, or pretend to be strangers avoiding necessary responsibility. Nick Radford will always explain any misunderstandings may be occurred between him and Grace Russell, always work his best to gain support from Grace Russell on every incident they faced together and major matters in his life. Under every condition, Nick Radford could not give up on protecting his connection with Grace Russell.  
This contract will take effect as long as Miss. Grace Russell wants.  
Nick Radford agrees to abandon his right of withdrawal in all circumstances."


End file.
